Listen to Jo Brielyn's interview on Will Blog for Kids tomorrow, February 7th!

As many of you may already know, I’m the host of the radio show, Will Blog for Kids on Blog Talk Radio. Tomorrow (Friday, January 7th), my lovely co-host Michelle Debenport from SomeGirlsWebsite, and I will be kicking off 2011 with a bang! For our first show in the new year we thought it’d be fun to let our listeners learn more about us, so we’ll be interviewing each other. I’ll be talking about my writing career and Creative Kids Ideas blog. I’m really excited – and a little nervous – about this and would love your support.

Here are the show details:

On the first Friday of every month at 11 am Central, experienced mommy bloggers, Jo Brielyn and Michelle Debenport, dare to delve into the world of blogging for or about children with their radio show, Will Blog for Kids. Start 2011 off by getting to know the hosts better. In January’s edition, Jo and Michelle will switch things up a little and interview each other! They will also be chatting about their new goals for their blogs, families , and lives in the New Year. And feel free to call in and share your own goals with Will Blog for Kids’ listeners!

Link to the show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/2011/01/07/rfk–will-blog-for-kids

Date: Friday, January 6, 2011

Time: 11:00 AM Central/Noon Eastern

Show length: 1 to 1-1/2 hours

Call-in number: (646) 595-4478

*Online chat is also available during the show, so be sure to log into Blog Talk Radio before the show begins.

This should be a fun show! I’d love to see you in the chatroom. Don’t forget, call-ins are welcome too!

**This same link will work for tuning in to the live show or listening to the archived version at a later time.

My blog posts here have been sporadic, I know. But, I assure you I have definitely not been slacking off! Would you like to see what I’ve been busy working on lately?

Take a look at these two recipe books. They are the first two books in the new Farmstand Favorites series. They’re also two of the writing projects I recently completed for Hatherleigh Press. I’m a contributing writer, so I wrote the opening content for both books. I also had the privilege of dealing with some of the local and regional associations and groups to collect the apple and pumpkin recipes included in the books. Each book contains over 75 delicious recipes!

Aren’t they pretty? (Click on the image for a better view.)

Farmstand Favorites: Pumpkins and Farmstand Favorites: Apples

Here’s what Hatherleigh Press has to say about this new series:

“The Farmstand Favorites series was created to encourage buying local and buying fresh. More than ever, we strive for a better understanding of where our food comes from, and for many of us this means shopping at a farmers market or farmstand. By supporting your local farmers and producers, you are also supporting a livelihood which is vital for a healthy, sustainable future.”

The exciting news is that as of yesterday (November 16, 2010) they are both available for sale, just in time for the holidays. You can learn more about Farmstand Favorites: Apples and Farmstand Favorites: Pumpkins and how to purchase them on the publisher’s website. The books are also available through Random House, Amazon, Borders, eBay and various other companies.

Also, if you are a health or food writer/reviewer and are interested in reviewing either book, please contact Jo Brielyn (that’s me) at jo[at]jobrielyn[dot]com to learn how to obtain a review copy.

Living with a Type 1 Kid

According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, almost 24 million Americans live with Diabetes. Almost 3 million of those people have Type 1 Diabetes, which generally strikes children, teenagers, and young adults (it can also be diagnosed in adults). More than 15,000 kids are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes each year in America alone. That’s about 40 kids every day! Yet, despite these numbers, Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes still receives far less media attention than necessary to inform our nation’s parents and families and facilitate a change.

Emily and Sue, Photo courtesy: Sue Ayers

Sue Ayers is a mother who knows all too well what it’s like to have a child affected by Type 1 Diabetes. Her 11-year old daughter, Emily, was diagnosed with Type 1 on January 22, 2010. Tomorrow, on my blog talk radio show, Will Blog for Kids, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sue and chatting with her about Emily, life since the diagnosis, what she’s now doing to raise awareness for Type 1 Diabetes, important facts about Juvenile Diabetes, and much more.

My co-host, Michelle Devenport, will also be talking with Lisa-Jo Baker from The Gypsy Mama about her recent trip to Guatemala as a Compassion International blogger.

You won’t want to miss this show! I hope to see you in the chatroom tomorrow.

Here are the details:

Link to the show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/2010/11/05/robin-falls-kids–will-blog-for-kids

Date: Friday, November 5, 2010

Time: 11:00 AM Central/Noon Eastern

Show length: 1 to 1-1/2 hours

Call-in number: (646) 595-4478

*Online chat is also available during the show, so be sure to log into Blog Talk Radio before the show begins.

Edited to add: The link above also works for listening to the archive version of the show.

My new blog talk radio show, Will Blog for Kids

I’m venturing into the world of blog talk radio this Friday with a great co-host. I’m excited about this opportunity! The show is called Will Blog for Kids and is a subsidiary of Robin Falls Kids. The first show is this Friday, September 3 at 11CST/Noon EST.


Here is what’s happening on this month’s show:

Join experienced mommy bloggers, Jo Brielyn from Creative Kids Ideas and Michelle Debenport from SomeGirlsWebsite, as they dare to delve into the world of blogging for children with their new radio show, Robin Falls Kids – Will Blog for Kids.

In this episode, Jo will chat with guest Lindsay Maddox of the hilarious blog, Silly Mom Thoughts. Lindsay is a freelance writer, author, humorist, avid blogger, and Mommy extraordinaire. This mother of four kids under the age of five has tons of stories to tell and the talent to tell them.

Also joining the show as Michelle’s guest is Deb Chitwood of LivingMontessoriNow.com. Deb is a Montessori certified teacher of preschool age children with training in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Godly Play (both Montessori-based religious education programs). Through her blog, she writes about using Montessori principles and methods in Montessori schools, traditional classrooms, homeschools, parenting, and life in general.

Come listen in as Jo and Michelle chat with these great guests about parenting and childhood issues, and learn the who, what, why, when, and how behind their popular sites. This show isn’t just your ordinary mommy blogger’s show!

Show details:

Link to the show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/2010/09/03/robin-falls-kids

Date: Friday, September 3, 2010

Time: 11:00 AM Central/Noon Eastern

Show length: 1 to 1-1/2 hours

Call-in number: (646) 595-4478

*Online chat is also available during the show, so be sure to log into Blog Talk Radio before the show begins.

Robin Falls Kids – Will Blog for Kids is looking for guests who are parents, educators, and writers who blog about content related to children under the age of 18. If you’re interested in becoming a guest on one of our future shows, you can contact us at Will Blog for Kids, send us an email at Willblogforkids@gmail.com, or leave Jo a comment here.

In a previous post – My Handy Dandy Schedule – I alluded to a new nonfiction book project I was working on and promised to share more details at a later date. Well… the time is now! I am a contributing writer with Hatherleigh Press, a publishing company devoted to educating people and encouraging healthy lifestyles, involvement in family and community, and earth-friendly choices. I began freelancing for Hatherleigh back in April. To date, I’ve completed work on five nonfiction books with them and look forward to several more.

Now, look what I now have in my hot little hands (Click on the image to make it bigger):

This book, The New Kitchen Garden: The Guide to Growing and Enjoying Abundant Food in Your Own Backyard, is the first book for which I was the contributing writer with Hatherleigh Press. Holding it in my hands made it all so real. What a feeling!

Then I opened it and read this (Click on the image to make it bigger):

Do you see whose name is inside this book? Jo Brielyn. Wait… that’s me!

Here’s a short blurb about the book (quoted from Hatherleigh Press):

From the Editors of Cooking Well comes The New Kitchen Garden, a new guide which provides an extensive selection of nutritious, delicious recipes that can bring the healthfulness of your garden right to your dinner table. Cooking Well’s The New Kitchen Garden features simple and delicious recipes designed to highlight the tastes of fresh ingredients from your very own garden. The perfect book for those who already have a garden or want to start one, this title also includes tips on gardening, harvesting, canning, and preserving.

Want to read what others are saying about the book? Check out this review published by Everything New Jersey– “The Kitchen Garden Comeback”.

Still want to know more? You can find the full book description and learn how to purchase The New Kitchen Garden: The Guide to Growing and Enjoying Abundant Food in Your Own Backyard at the Hatherleigh’s website. It goes on sale to public in less than two weeks: August 24, 2010.

If you’re interested in some of my other projects, pop over to the News page. I try my best to update it often, but lately, new projects are coming in quicker than I can update! But who’s complaining? Certainly not me!